National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention

Columbia University TeenScreen® Program (http://www.teenscreen.org/). TeenScreen helps schools and communities implement screening programs to identify at-risk teens and pre-teens. It uses simple screening tools that can detect depression, the risk of suicide, and other mental disorders in teens to help schools identify and arrange treatment for youth who are suffering from depression and other undiagnosed mental illnesses and those who are at risk for suicide.

Jason Foundation (http://www.jasonfoundation.com). The Jason Foundation, Inc., educates young people, parents, teachers, and others who work with young people about youth suicide. The foundation offers programs, seminars, and support materials on suicide awareness and prevention.

SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program
(http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/sos_highschool/index.htm). The SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program provides school health professionals with the educational materials necessary to replicate this program, which teaches high school students to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide and depression in themselves and others, and to follow specific action steps needed to respond to those signs. The program can be blended into an existing health curriculum or can be used as a stand-alone program. The program includes educational materials, a training video, and an implementation manual, and can be completed in one or two class periods.

Suicide Prevention in the Schools
(http://csmha.umaryland.edu/resources.html/suicide%20prevention%20brief.pdf).
This provides a brief summary of what is known about preventing suicide in schools from the Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action.

Yellow Ribbon International (http://www.yellowribbon.org/). This organization provides training and resources for school- and community-based suicide prevention programs (including gatekeeping). It has chapters in a number of states that can provide suicide prevention speakers, materials, and training to schools and other organizations.

The Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide (http://cfs.fmhi.usf.edu/StateandLocal/suicide_prevention/). This online resource was developed by the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. It provides a framework for schools to assess their existing or proposed suicide prevention efforts (through a series of checklists) and provides resources and information that school administrators can use to enhance or add to their existing program. Information is offered in a series of issue briefs corresponding to a specific checklist. Each brief offers a rationale for the importance of the specific topic, together with a brief overview of the key points. The briefs also offer specific strategies that have proven to work in reducing the incidence of suicide, with references that schools can use to explore these issues in greater detail.

Youth Suicide Prevention Intervention and Postvention Guidelines: A Resource for School Personnel (http://www.state.me.us/suicide/guidelines02.pdf). These guidelines were developed by the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program and designed for schools to use within existing protocols to assist at-risk students and intervene appropriately in a suicide-related crisis.

Guidelines for School-Based Suicide Prevention Programs (1999). This 14-page report by the Prevention Division of the American Association of Suicidology examines the bases and requirements for school-based prevention programs in general, as well as for three variations of school-based suicide prevention programs—those for all students, those for groups of students at risk as identified by research (i.e., incoming high school freshmen), and those for individual students identified through screening. It also explores the essential components of, and a sample curriculum for, a comprehensive school-based suicide prevention program. The report provides recommendations to ensure the longevity of programs once implemented. Guidelines for School-based Suicide Prevention Programs is available online from the Education Commission of the States (http://www.ecs.org/).

Resources from the National Association of School Psychologists

The National Association of School Psychologists’ Web site
(http://www.nasponline.org/) contains a great deal of valuable information on suicide prevention and crisis response. Much of this material is available online at no cost. Materials include

• Suicide resources (http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/suicide_resources.html) that feature online publications, including Questions and Answers: Suicide Intervention in Schools; Times of Tragedy: Preventing Suicide in Troubled Children and Youth, Tips for School Personnel or Crisis Team Members; and Teen Suicides: Life, After Death.

• Culturally Competent Crisis Response: Information for School Psychologists and Crisis Teams (Silva, 2004) (http://www.nasponline.org/culturalcompetence)

• Crisis response resources (http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/resources.htm) that contain a number of online publications, including a crisis response plan worksheet and Crisis and Loss: Information for Educators (a 20-page guide), as well as links to other Web-based resources on preparing for and responding to a crisis.

Suicide Gatekeeping Programs

Livingworks Education, Inc. (http://www.livingworks.net/). Livingworks provides training and support for the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program, a suicide gatekeeping program, as well as shorter presentations on suicide awareness and prevention.

Preventing Youth Suicide through Gatekeeper Training: A Resource Book for Gatekeepers (http://www.state.me.us/suicide/gkeepbook.pdf). This book was designed for use in youth suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings and to provide basic information about suicide prevention, crisis intervention, support for survivors of suicide, and suicide prevention resources. The book was created for the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

QPR Institute (http://www.qprinstitute.com). The QPR Institute offers gatekeeper training programs for the general public as well as professionals, including firefighters, clergy, and teachers.

General Resources on Suicide and Suicide Prevention

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (http://www.sprc.org/). The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides prevention support, training, and materials to strengthen suicide prevention efforts. Among the resources found on its Web site is the SPRC Library Catalog (http://library.sprc.org/), a searchable database containing a wealth of information on suicide and suicide prevention, including publications, peer-reviewed research studies, curricula, and Web-based resources. Many of these items are available online.

American Association of Suicidology (http://www.suicidology.org/). The American Association of Suicidology is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the understanding and prevention of suicide. It promotes research, public awareness programs, public education, and training for professionals and volunteers and serves as a national clearinghouse for information on suicide.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (http://www.afsp.org). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is dedicated to advancing knowledge of suicide and the ability to prevent it. AFSP’s activities include supporting research projects; providing information and education about depression and suicide; promoting professional education for the recognition and treatment of depressed and suicidal individuals; publicizing the magnitude of the problems of depression and suicide and the need for research, prevention, and treatment; and supporting programs for suicide survivor treatment, research and education.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/). The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides immediate assistance to individuals in suicidal crisis by connecting them to the nearest available suicide prevention and mental health service provider through a toll-free telephone number—1-800-273-TALK (8255). Technical assistance, training, and other resources are available to crisis centers and mental health service providers participating in the network of services linked to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/). The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), located at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a valuable source of information and statistics about suicide, suicide risk, and suicide prevention. To locate information on suicide and suicide prevention, scroll down the left-hand navigation bar on the NCIPC Web site and click on “Suicide” under the “Violence” heading.

Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (http://www.spanusa.org). Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA) is the nation’s only suicide prevention organization dedicated to leveraging grassroots support among suicide survivors (those who have lost a loved one to suicide) and others to advance public policies that help prevent suicide.

Suicide & Suicide Prevention for Schools: An Annotated Bibliography

Gould, M. S., Greenberg, T., Velting, D. M., & Shaffer, D. (2003). Youth suicide risk and preventive interventions: A review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(4), 386–405. A review of the research on youth suicide, its dramatic decrease over the last 10 years, risk factors for suicide, and promising prevention strategies, including school-based skills training, screening, education of primary care physicians, media education, and lethal-means restriction.

Hawton, K., & Heeringen, K. (2000). International handbook of suicide and attempted suicide. New York: John Wiley. Chapters of interest to school staff include Chapter 15: Suicide Behavior in Children; Chapter 16: Adolescent Suicide Behavior; and Chapter 37: Suicide Prevention in Schools.

Jacobs, D. (Ed.). (1999). Harvard Medical School guide to suicide assessment and intervention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. A guide to help clinicians in their assessment and care of suicidal patients.

Kalafat, J. (2003). School approaches to youth suicide prevention. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(9), 1211–1223. Literature review, discussion, and recommendations on the types and effectiveness of school-based youth suicide prevention programs.

Leenaars, A. (2001). Suicide prevention in schools: Resources for the millennium. In D. Lester (Ed.), Suicide prevention: Resources for the millennium (pp. 213–238). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. Overview of school-based prevention and an outline of a comprehensive school-based suicide prevention program.

Lerner, M., Volpe, J., & Lindell, B. (2003). A practical guide for crisis response in our schools (5th ed.). Commack, NY: American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. A guide to preparing for and managing crises in schools. This book covers traumatic stress management, responding to suicidal or violent students, grief counseling, and other issues. Of special interest to teachers will be the section titled "Teacher Guidelines for Crisis Response."

Maris, R., Berman, A., & Silverman, M. M. (Eds.). (2000). Comprehensive textbook of suicidology. New York: Guilford Press. Chapters of interest to school staff include Suicide, Gender, and Sexuality; Indirect Self-Destructive Behavior; and In the Wake of Suicide: Survivorship and Postvention.

Posner, M. (2000). Preventing school injuries: A comprehensive guide for school administrators, teachers, and staff. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. This book contains information on implementing suicide prevention, postvention, and crisis preparation activities in the context of a comprehensive school injury prevention program.

Quinnett, P. G. (2000). Counseling suicidal people: A therapy of hope. Spokane, WA: QPR Institute. Retrieved March 18, 2005, from http://www.qprinstitute.com/.
This book was written for therapists, mental health workers, physicians, nurses, and others who are not clinical suicide counselors, but who might find themselves counseling people at risk of suicide. It provides a practical set of tools and strategies for risk assessment and intervention. Much of the information on how to talk to a person at risk of suicide will be valuable to a broad range of professionals and paraprofessionals.

Velting, D., & Gould, M. (1997). Suicide contagion. In S. Cavetto, R. Maris, and M. Silverman (Eds.), Review of suicidology (pp. 96-137). New York: Guilford Press. This book chapter reviews the literature on suicide contagion and the influence of media portrayals of suicide.